Haakon Christensen was born in Oslo Norway in 1859. He first visited Crystal Lake Township to attend a ceremonial laying of the cornerstone of the Lutheran Seminary. Dedicated in 1889, the seminary was located on College Avenue (now Regent Ave. N.) near 40th Ave. N.
Christensen returned shortly thereafter, bought land from Andrew B. Robbins, and built a blacksmith shop at the southeast corner of Crystal Lake Avenue and Shingle Creek Road, now West Broadway and 42nd Ave. N. The shop opened for business on August 28, 1888.
When the Christensen family arrived in Robbinsdale, they rented a house at 43rd and West Broadway. After the house was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1903, they built a home on College Avenue at Rockford Road. The house is remembered by many who attended Robbinsdale’s Public Schools on Regent Avenue, since it was just across the street. Haakon served on Robbinsdale’s Village Board of Trustees for 25 years and operated his business in town for half a century. In addition to blacksmithing, he made skis and built the first carts used by our original Volunteer Fire Department. His wife, Magna, whose real name was Mina Lovise, was a founding member of the Robbinsdale Library Club.
The Christensens had three children, George, LeRoy, and Dagmar. George served in World War I and was active in the American Legion for many years. Dagmar became a teacher at the Robbinsdale Public School. When Haakon Christensen died in 1945 at the age of 86, he was the oldest active blacksmith in the state of Minnesota. His shop was torn down in 1948 to make room for the bank. The house was demolished to make way for a new Redeemer Lutheran Church in 1965.
